The mountain wind swept through the abandoned observation station.
The distant mountains were shrouded in shadow.
The sun was already sinking.
Only a layer of dark red afterglow remained along the horizon.
Crow sat at the edge of the observation station.
Several portable surveillance devices were placed beside him.
Their screens had already gone dark.
The final image remained frozen on the moment before the underground base exploded.
Viper's figure.
Forever frozen there.
The wind blew gently.
Crow did not move.
He did not leave.
Nor did he continue observing.
He simply sat there in silence.
Like a stone.
After a long while.
His gaze slowly fell toward the distance.
And his thoughts returned to many years ago.
Back then.
He did not even have a name.
Or rather.
He had already forgotten his own name.
The earliest part of his memories was already extremely vague.
So vague that he could not even remember his parents' faces.
He only remembered a street.
A woman holding his hand.
And a man who was smiling.
Then.
The memory broke.
When it became clear again.
There were cries.
Many children were crying.
Some were shouting for their mothers.
Some were desperately beating against iron cages.
Some were dragged away.
And never came back.
Crow was probably six years old then.
Or seven.
He did not know.
Because no one would tell a commodity how old it was.
The iron cages were placed inside a warehouse.
Stacked together like cargo.
Every day, people came to select them.
Sometimes they took one.
Sometimes they took several.
No one knew where those children were taken.
But everyone knew.
It would definitely not be anywhere good.
At first, Crow cried too.
He shouted.
He even tried to escape.
What he received in return was a beating.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Until he finally realized.
Crying was meaningless.
Anger was meaningless.
Fear was meaningless too.
No one would spare you because of any of those things.
So.
He began to observe.
He observed the guards.
He observed the buyers.
He observed everyone's movements.
It was the first time in his life that he truly learned to observe.
One day.
A strange man came to the warehouse.
He was a middle-aged man.
Ordinary clothes.
An ordinary face.
Nothing about him stood out.
He was the kind of person who would be immediately forgotten after disappearing into a crowd.
He looked at many children.
But he never said a word.
Finally.
His gaze stopped on Crow.
For a long while.
The man slowly spoke.
"This one."
"I'll take him."
Just like that.
Crow left the iron cage.
Only later did he learn.
That man was an information broker.
A very famous figure in the underworld.
Many organizations bought intelligence from him.
Many factions relied on his channels.
But very few people had ever seen his true identity.
Many of his clients did not even know his name.
Everyone only knew one thing.
As long as you could afford the price.
He could obtain the information.
The man brought Crow home.
It was a very ordinary house.
No bodyguards.
No servants.
No luxurious decorations.
But the rooms were filled with all kinds of materials.
Maps.
Documents.
Photographs.
Recording equipment.
Codebooks.
Communication records.
Identity documents from different countries.
Even various forged identities.
The entire house was like an intelligence warehouse.
Crow was stunned the first time he entered.
The man simply handed him a thick book.
"Memorize it."
There was no explanation.
No welcome.
No comfort.
The book was filled entirely with numbers.
Densely packed numbers that would give an ordinary person a headache just by looking at them.
Crow spent the entire night memorizing it.
The next day.
The man asked:
"Remember it?"
Crow nodded.
So.
The man immediately threw the book into the furnace.
Burning it.
Then he took out a second book.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The days began to repeat.
Every day was spent learning.
Memory.
Analysis.
Deduction.
Disguise.
Surveillance.
Counter-surveillance.
Codes.
Communications.
Observation.
Intelligence trading.
The rules of the underworld.
Everything was constantly forced into his mind.
If he made a mistake.
The man would not beat him.
He would not scold him.
He would simply teach it again.
If he made the same mistake a second time.
The day's lesson ended immediately.
Because the man had once said:
"Intelligence doesn't give people a second chance."
Crow soon discovered.
The man had almost no emotions.
He never smiled.
Never became angry.
Never became happy because of success.
Nor did he become depressed because of failure.
As if nothing mattered to him.
One day.
The man suddenly asked:
"Do you know what the most important thing for an information broker is?"
Crow thought carefully.
Money?
Wrong.
Information?
Wrong.
Connections?
Wrong.
Contacts?
Wrong.
The man slowly shook his head.
Then he raised one finger.
"Never trust anyone."
Crow froze for a moment.
The man continued.
"Friends will betray you."
"Partners will sell you out."
"Clients will kill you."
"Even someone you saved will sell you out."
"So."
"Don't trust anyone."
Crow remembered it.
The man added another sentence.
"And."
"Never show any emotion."
"Anger exposes weakness."
"Sadness exposes weakness."
"Affection exposes weakness."
"Fear exposes weakness too."
"If someone finds your weakness."
"They can kill you."
From that day onward.
Crow began learning to hide his expressions.
When he was happy, he showed no reaction.
When he was sad, he showed no reaction.
When he was praised, he showed no reaction.
Even when he was scolded, he showed no reaction.
Several years later.
It had become difficult for him to show any emotion.
Sometimes.
He did not even know what he himself was thinking.
The man was extremely satisfied.
"Good."
"You're finally starting to look like an information broker."
Time continued to pass.
Crow gradually grew up.
He began taking on real missions.
His first surveillance.
His first infiltration.
His first disguise.
His first theft of classified documents.
Every mission was successful.
Because he was better at observing than others.
Better at remembering.
And better at hiding himself.
Sometimes.
The man would take him along for transactions.
Crow would sit quietly in a corner.
Silently watching the two sides negotiate.
Those people appeared friendly on the surface.
But behind their smiles, they wanted nothing more than to kill each other.
Everyone was lying.
Everyone was using everyone else.
Gradually.
Crow began to accept his teacher's words.
Never trust anyone.
Because no one was worth trusting.
He thought.
This kind of life would continue.
One day.
He would officially graduate.
And become a new information broker.
However.
That day came without warning.
It was an ordinary night.
Rain was falling outside.
An old client came to visit.
The man had been working with his teacher for many years.
They had completed countless transactions.
There had never been a problem.
Crow even knew him.
He had seen him too many times.
The transaction ended.
The information was exchanged.
Just as both sides were preparing to leave—
A gunshot rang out.
Bang.
The first shot.
His teacher's shoulder was pierced.
Bang.
The second shot.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Crow stood upstairs.
Watching through a gap.
He did not make a sound.
Because his teacher had taught him.
When danger appears.
Survive first.
Do not act impulsively.
Below.
The client slowly approached.
A smile remained on his face.
"Sorry."
"You knew too many of my secrets."
Then.
The third shot.
It ended everything.
His teacher collapsed.
Blood spread across the floor.
The rain continued pounding against the windows.
Yet the entire room was terrifyingly silent.
At that moment.
Crow did not cry.
He did not become angry.
He did not even rush downstairs.
Because none of those things mattered.
However.
At that very moment.
His ability awakened.
The entire world suddenly became different.
The air.
The sounds.
The footsteps.
The lines of sight.
The escape routes.
The positions of everyone present.
All the information entered his mind simultaneously.
As if the entire space had been unfolded before him.
He could sense where the client would go next.
Which rooms he would search.
Which routes he would take.
The sensation was impossible to describe.
It was as if he had seen the future in advance.
Crow did not hesitate.
He immediately left.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Every movement perfectly avoided the search.
When the client rushed upstairs.
The room was already empty.
And Crow.
Had long since disappeared into the darkness.
From that day onward.
He survived alone.
Traded alone.
Sold intelligence alone.
Faced the entire underworld alone.
And the two sentences his teacher had left behind.
Became the only principles of his life.
Never trust anyone.
Never show any emotion.
All these years.
He had always followed them.
Never once breaking them.
Until later.
He met someone.
A madman.
Someone more dangerous than anyone else.
The man who would later be known as Viper.
The wind swept through the observation station.
Crow slowly closed his eyes.
The distant night gradually descended.
And his memories of Viper.
Began to emerge from the darkness.